Test Drive
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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Description 

Test Drive is a driving/racing simulation published by Accolade. You are involved into illegal street races, and the goal is simple: get through the five stages as quick as possible. Before performing your "test drive" you're asked to choose one of the five cars: Lotus Esprit, Lamborghini Countach, Porsche 911, Ferrari Testarossa and Chevrolet Corvette. All of them have their own looks and driving characteristics. One thing these cars have in common: you're asked to shift the gears manually! To avoid speeding tickets (that will cost time!), you have to keep an eye at your radar detector, or just make sure you drive at least 120 mph. But be aware of sharp bends filled with potholes and take care of the oncoming traffic on the left side of the road. A crash easily occurs! Watch your steering, and avoid all obstacles including cliffs on the right and the ravine on the left. When crashing your front window will break, you will loose one of your limited lives, and you will loose time since you have to accelerate again. After each of stages there's time to either measure your heart beat or stretch your legs. Your gas tank is being filled while your racing time, average speed and rewarded points are shown. The first stage is short and easy but the next stages become more difficult. Bends become sharper, while radar detector activity combined with hard traffic circumstances keep you concentrated more and more... 

 Design 

The graphics of this game are advanced for its time and the menu design is very original. While selecting your car, many technical details are provided. While driving, you see a cockpit with a the original dash board, including the original gear-lever in motion. 

The game starts with a very decent intro. There's no textual menu. Just the first car appears. If you want to drive with it, you hit the button and it'll drive. Otherwise you can see the other cars by moving left or right. This way of menu construction can be found in other games by Accolade as well. Then directly you're there on the street. The design of the street itself is kept simple. At the right side there always is a mountain, at the left side a ravine. The others cars on the road are different from each other, but not very detailed. Although, detailed enough to recognize a VW Beetle from a truck, and in different colours. When you play the game more often, you will notice that there's no random appearance of the other cars. 

 Cars 

Choose between these 80's sports cars: 	 
Lotus Esprit Turbo	Driving the Lotus 
	 
Lamborghini Countach	Driving the Lamborghini 
	 
Porsche 911 Turbo	Driving the Porsche 
	 
Ferrari Testarossa	Driving the Ferrari 
	 
Chevrolet Corvette	Driving the Chevrolet 

 Controls 

 D   = Toggle visibility of gear lever 
 V   = Toggle digital info (MPH and RPM) 
 S   = Toggle sound effects 
 Run/Stop   = Quit Game

 To shift up, push forward and press fire. 
 To shift fown, pull backward and press fire. 

 Solution 

The game ends when you finish the 5th stage, without crashing too often. Crashing the police car will result in an immediate game over. 

 To get a high score 

Theoretically, a high score of more than 50000 should be possible. 
 First stage: 8512 points can be collected. You should drive either the Lamborghini or Ferrari to do so, without any hesitation. To maximize the score you have to crash just before the gas stop. If you drive one of the three other cars, you're still able to earn at least 7232 points. 
 Second stage: even more points can be gathered in this stage, since it's a longer stage compared to the first stage. The solution is: full throttle. 
 Third, fourth and fifth stage: in these stages the corners are tighter, and here it doesn't matter any more if you drive the fastest car or not. Exercise, experience and some luck are the keywords. 

 Bugs 

 Sometimes suddenly the police car appears in front of you, it comes from nowhere! As quick as it comes as quick as it goes: within a second it has gone, but watch out that you didn't hit it. 
 The Chevrolet Corvette in driving mode should have - according to the car specifications in the beginning of the game - four gears plus one overdrive. Instead, while driving there are only three gears available plus one overdrive. This can be considered as a bug, because the gears and other details of the other cars are corresponding with the specifications. 
 Not really a bug but nice to mention: the actual top speed of the cars differ from what is said in the specifications. Most of the cars drive a little bit faster.

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Description from the packaging:

Test Drive: Drive five of the world's most exotic cars!
If you've ever wondered what it would be like to experience the power and performance of the world's most exclusive cars, wonder no more.

Accolade's Test Drive puts you behind the wheel of five exceptional automobiles in a driving simulation that is guaranteed to ignite your adrenaline.
Is your heart strapped in?? Good. Hit warp speed in a Ferrari Testarossa, blow the doors off with a Lotus Turbo Esprit, corner until the tires scream in a Porsche 911 Turbo, bring your oil to a boil in a Lamborghini Countach and dust the fuzz in a Corvette.

Test Drive's authentic graphics, sterling sound and lifelike animation allow you to sense the awesome characteristics of each machine. They handle like the real thing. They brake like the real thing. They move like the real thing. In fact, Test Drive is so realistic you'll swear the G-Force has pinned you to your seat.

Accolade's Test Drive. Welcome to life in the fast lane.
The Lanborghini Countach looks fast standing still. But before you attempt to break the land speed record, it might be wise to get a handle on what you're in for. Test Drive provides you with a detailed spec chart on each of the five cars, listing their vital statistics. Please note that this road shark has a top speed of 173 mph. (Gulp) Maybe you'd like to start off a bit slower.

How about the Porsche 911 Turbo? Sure, it's quick (zero to 60 in five seconds flat) but it forged its reputation with precise response and handling. After reviewing the specs, it's time to get down to business. Fire up the 911 and push it to the limit on any of Test Drive's challenging road scenarios. For example, if you'd like to find out if the 911's handling is all that it's cracked up to be, select a winding mountain road.

Watch the road signs zip past your windshield. Test Drive's fluid animation fills you with a thrilling rush of speed. Feast your eyes on the 911's dashboard. Test Drive's graphics are so true-to-life, you'll swear you can smell the leather interior. Push the 911 into the turn. Feel it suck the road like a vacuum. Your radar detector is clean... but check the speedometer. The fuzz ain't friendly in these parts.


http://www.c64-wiki.com/index.php/Test_Drive
